Joseph Gordon-Levitt Refused James Gunn’s $773M Marvel Movie to Star in Box-Office Disaster With Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man Co-Star
Marvel fans can’t imagine anyone else besides the actors currently cast in the relevant roles, particularly in Guardians of the Galaxy, portraying their favorite characters on screen. This is so that the actors who eventually succeed in making the character their own can simply blend in and control the audience’s and die-hard fans’ minds of the comics and later the MCU.
Regarding Guardians of the Galaxy, it has been said that James Gunn, the cast, and crew had a difficult time selecting the right actor to portray the Marvel Comics characters. Some fans argue that the team picked up actors that weren’t really established in the industry and made them household names and some argue that they got the role because they were worthy of it. But there was a chance that the audience could have had a different Star-Lord.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt turned down to play Star-Lord in the MCU
According to reports, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt who was doing very well in his career at the time when James Gunn was looking for his Peter Quill/Star-Lord for Guardians of the Galaxy, was considered the front-runner for the part.
The actor who was Marvel Studios’ first choice to portray Star Lord on-screen turned down the offer to be a part of 2014’s Sin City sequel; Sin City: A Dame to Kill For as he wanted to work with director Robert Rodriguez and writer Frank Miller.
Levitt thought that the way Sin City was received very well at the box office, the sequel would do the same, but unfortunately, it tanked at the box office and the franchise fizzled out. The sequel also starred Mickey Rourke who had appeared, with Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 2 as Whiplash.
After Levitt passed on the opportunity to star as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, actor Chris Pratt was finalized for the role. He has done a phenomenal job of shaping the Star-Lord into the hearts of the audience. Levitt was also considered to be a front-runner for the role of Ant-Man, but actor Paul Rudd was picked for the character.
Is there going to be a spinoff for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy?
Even though the original story for Guardians of the Galaxy might have come to an end with Vol. 3, which was recently released, the movie did open many spinoff potentials for Marvel Studios to explore according to the fans. The director has already stated that the third part was the last part of the franchise, but one can never say it’s the end when it’s MCU and now with multiverses and subplot potentials in the picture.
If fan theories are to be believed, there is a possibility that the characters whose storylines were introduced in the third part may receive some sort of spin-off in the form of a series or possibly a movie. In the final moments of the third film, everyone left the group behind to pursue their paths in a new life.
Rocket, who takes over as the team’s leader, and Groot, who has grown up and can now fight alongside his raccoon friend as a valuable warrior, were the only two characters who did not resign. Additionally, it was stated that Star-Lord merits a final standalone film like Black Widow, and if done by the character’s arc, it could succeed and maybe give the audience a chance to return to space for one last adventure. However, nothing has been confirmed or said as of now.
James Gunn thanks the fans for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 success
Director James Gunn, who is now the co-CEO of DC Studios, recently took to his social media to thank the ardent fans of the MCU to make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 a success at the box office. The movie received a positive response from the audience for being a perfect ending to the Guardians of the Galaxy chapter.
The movie had been in the top ten films at the box office for the past ten weeks and will now leave the group as its theatrical run time runs out, passing almost $835 million worldwide. The movie exceeded the theatrical run prediction by about $10 million.
Gunn is currently occupied with planning his upcoming Superman: Legacy with David Corenswet as the lead of the movie replacing Henry Cavill as the Superman. Superman: Legacy will be the beginning of the DC Universe under his and Peter Safran’s leadership.
Source: MovieWeb
